Smart Choice Rate

The Smart Choice Rate is a rate under which members benefit from a more balanced bill year-round. The rate also gives members a way to save money and lower their annual cost of electric service by conserving energy during Energy Saving Peak Days each summer.

• The Peak Service Charge is based on the highest one-hour consumption of energy (kWh/hour) established by the member during peak hours, which Cobb EMC will specify one day in advance.
• For new members, the Peak Service Charge shall be based on the member's highest one-hour consumption of energy during the current billing month until an Energy Saving Peak Day occurs.
• Energy Saving Peak Days will typically occur June through September between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. during weekdays when Cobb EMC forecasts that we will experience high peak use conditions. Cobb EMC will not call for Energy Saving Peak Days during holidays or weekends.

Summary of peak hours:

• June through September only on Energy Saving Peak Days
• Peak hour times: 2-7 p.m.
• No weekends or holidays

Once the Peak Service Charge has been determined during notified Energy Saving Peak Days, this charge remains the same for up to 12 months or until a new Peak Service Charge is established.

Members can control their Peak Service Charge by taking steps to lower energy consumption during Peak Hours, such as not using all appliances at once during peak hours.

• Improve the efficiency of the house.
  • Schedule an energy audit with one of our trusted energy advisors.
  • Use online energy efficiency tools.
  • Check out the U.S. Department of Energy's appliance calculator to learn how much electricity your appliances use.
• Between 2-7 p.m., June through September, on specified Energy Saving Peak Days avoid the activities listed below:
  • Running the dishwasher, electric washer and dryer or electric water heater at the same time
  • Using the oven for cooking, which will heat your kitchen and make your air conditioner work longer and harder
  • Turning all of your electronics on at once, such as the TV, game consoles and computers
• To save energy, consider the activities listed below:
  • Pre-cool your home before peak hours with a programmable thermostat. Set your thermostat to 80 degrees or higher during peak hours.
  • Complete a yearly HVAC tuneup
  • Turn off unnecessary lights.
• Check out our Energy Saving Peak Day​ toolkit, which contains tips and tools for members on the Smart Choice Rate.

Peak use (demand) is the maximum energy need for an hour – set by the member – for the utility to have available at all times to meet everyone’s maximum needs during peak hours.

Energy use, also referred to as consumption, is the total amount of energy used by the member – usually over a longer period, such as a whole month.

Example:

If a 100-watt lightbulb is on for 10 hours, it consumes 1,000 watt-hours. The entire time it's on, it demands 100 watts or .01kW from the utility. That means Cobb EMC must have that .01kW ready whenever the member turns on the lamp.

Similarly, ten 100-watt lightbulbs burning for 1 hour consume 1,000 watt-hours or 1kWh.

Note that in both examples, the energy use is 1kWh, however, notice how the second situation impacts the utility from a demand perspective. Cobb EMC must now be prepared to provide ten times as much capacity in response to the demand of the 10 lightbulbs operating all at once.

Cobb EMC’s Smart Choice Rate ensures that members who use a significant amount of energy during peak hours pay for its availability, and those members who use less pay less by lowering their use during peak hours. Every member has a different need for power at different times. Since electricity cannot be easily stored, we must have available resources on standby to meet the sum of each member’s needs during peak hours. To fairly cover the cost of power production and transmission, utilities use rates like Smart Choice.

The Smart Choice Rate gives you a simple way to reduce your annual electric bill and makes budgeting easy by minimizing fluctuation in power bills. You also pay a lower energy charge.

Members can save money by reducing energy use on Energy Saving Peak Days and taking advantage of a lower energy charge. The Smart Choice Rate allows you to more easily budget expenses and encourages you to watch your energy use during specified hours and take some energy conservation measures to help you save energy and money. If you can shift your use of major appliances during peak hours (2-7 p.m. on specified days), you can lower your annual cost of electric service.

• Sign up online
• Call 770-429-2100

• Sign up or sign in to online account management
• Download the Cobb EMC app

Yes. Use the Usage Explorer tool (sign up or sign in to online account management) to see a marker for Energy Saving Peak Days. Select the month you wish to view and make sure you're on the Daily Usage view to see all the days within that month. This view will display the peak hour marker.

Hover over the marker to see the date the Energy Saving Peak Day occurred. You can also click on the green bar for that day to view hourly energy use.

Members will be notified the day before an Energy Saving Peak Day is expected via email. Cobb EMC will send an email notification if the Energy Saving Peak Day is canceled. Peak days occur on certain weekdays during the months of June through September, 2-7 p.m., when Cobb EMC forecasts that it will experience peak use. Peak days will exclude weekends and holidays.

• Email: Make sure we have your correct email address by logging in to your account. Add Cobb EMC to your safe senders list to avoid spam.
• Cobb EMC app notification
• Online account management alert
• Dial 770-429-2223
• Smart Choice toolkit

Energy Saving Peak Days are driven by the overall demand for power by Cobb EMC members, the overall demand for power in our region, and the local and regional weather. It’s hard to predict how many Energy Saving Peak Days will occur each summer between June and September. Cobb EMC will only set Energy Saving Peak Days when there is a high probability that it will have a very high energy use day that will impact wholesale power costs. Based on historical peak period data, the number of days in which Cobb EMC may identify as Energy Saving Peak Days ranges from 5-20 days, but can vary depending on weather.

Cobb EMC may cancel an Energy Saving Peak Day due to sudden changes in regional weather conditions, along with larger than expected fluctuations in system load. Cobb EMC will send a notification if an Energy Saving Peak Day is canceled.

Energy Saving Peak Days will exclude weekends and holidays. However, we may send a notification if an Energy Saving Peak Day is expected the day after a holiday or weekend.

Click here for detailed information about your bill.

The Smart Choice rate is a 12-month commitment.